Meat slitting machine



June 23, 1942*. J. P. SPANG MEAT SLIT'IING MACHINE Filed May V9 1939 '7 Sheets-Sheet 1 lnvenfor. (Joseph P. Spong June 23, 1942. J. P. sPANG MEAT SLITTING' MACHINE Filed May 9, 1939 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIl/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIII lIlI/I/IIIIIIIIIII mm w WM ms I ,P, e o. M 1

June 23,1942. J. P; SPAN'G 2,287,278

ilEAT SLITTI NG momma Filed May 9,51939 7 Shee ts-Sheet 5 MEAT SLITTING MACHINE Filed May 9, 1939 7 Sheets-Sheet .7

g 122 I28 lnvenTor. Joseph PSpcmg WW M Patented June 23, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEAT SLITTING MACHINE Application May 9, 1939, Serial No. 272,602

5 Claims.

This invention relates to meat slitting machines of the type having a plurality of rotary slitting knives for slitting the meat and an endless apron for feeding the meat to and past the slitting knives.

The features wherein the invention resides will be more fully set forth and then pointed out in the appending claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view with part broken out illustrating a meat slitting machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the machine shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55, Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 66, Fig. 1;

Fig. '7 is a section on the line I-I, Fig 4;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a different embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 99, Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a section on the line II I], Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. '7 but showing still another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 12 is an end View of the structure shown in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary view showing the stripper used in Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 is a section on the line |4I4, Fig. 12;

Fig. 15 is a part sectional view showing still a different embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 15a. is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing a different embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 15b is a sectional view on the line Ib-I5b, Fig. 15a;

Fig. 16 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the means for rotating the knives shown in Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 is also a part sectional View showing another embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 18 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an embodiment of the invention in which the rotary knives cut clear through the slice of meat, thereby to cut it into strips;

Fig. 19 is a fragmentary view illustrating the knives and grooved feed roll of Fig. 18;

Fig. 20 is a fragmentary view illustrating a device embodying the invention which is adapted to knit together two thin slices of meat.

Fig. 21 is a side view of a meat slitting attachment embodying the invention adapted to be attached to a meat grinder or meat chopper or other kitchen implement;

Fig. 22 is a section on the line 2222, Fig. 21;

Fig. 23 is a section on the line 2323, Fig. 22.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to '7 of the drawings, I indicates the rotary disk slitting knives by which the meat is slit, said knives being mounted fixedly on a knife shaft 2 in any usual way, which shaft is journaled in suitable bearings 3 carried by the supporting frame 4. This frame 4 is formed with the hollow base portion 5 which is adapted to receive the motor 6 for rotating the knives and is also provided with two uprights or standards I and la which rise from the hollow base E5 and in which the bearings 3 for the knife shaft are mounted. The knife shaft is driven from the motor 6 by a belt 4| which passes around a pulley 42 on the motor shaft and around a pulley 43 fast on the knife shaft. 7

In Figs. 1 to 7, the bearings 3 are shown as mounted on the outside of the uprights I and la and are secured to the uprights by suitable clamping screws or bolts 8. The bearing members 3 are formed with hub portions 9 which extend through openings Ill in the uprights I, Ia. The knife shaft 2 carries at each end a bearing bushing I2a which is retained on the shaft by a cap nut I2, said bushings I2a finding a bearing in the bearing members 3.

I3 indicates a cover plate or hood which is supported on the uprights I, Ia, and which covers and protects the knives I. This hood is provided at one edge witha lip l4 which fits into a notch It: with which the uprights I, Ia. are provided, and the cover is retained in place by retaining screws It which are carried by the horizontal portions of the brackets I! that are secured to the uprights I, la, each screw being screwthreaded through its bracketand the end of the screw fitting in a recess 18 formed in the cover plate I3. There are two such clamping screws I5, one associated with each of the uprights I, Ia, and these clamping screws together with the lip I4 serve to firmly but detachably retain the hood or cover I3 in place. I

Said uprights are provided with slots II leading to said openings l0 and which provide means for removing the knife assembly from the machine when it is necessary to clean or repair it. To accomplish this, the retaining screws 8 are removed so as to allow the bearing members 3 to be withdrawn from the apertures It]. The knife assembly may then be removed through the slots II, it being understood that the cover plate I3 will have first been removed from the frame.

As stated above, the machine of this invention is of that type in which the slice of meat to be slit, which is indicated at I9, is fed to and past the knives by means of an endless apron, the latter being shown at 28. This apron passes around guide rolls 23, 22, that are rotatably mounted in an apron support comprising two side bars 23, 24, that are fixedly secured to the frame. The side bar 24 is secured to lugs or bosses 25 formed on the inside of the upright I by means of clamping bolts 25 and the side bar 23 is secured to lugs 21 which rise from the top 28 of the base by means of clamping screws 29.

The roll 2| is shown as an idler and is in the form of a sleeve freely rotatable on a pin 38 extending between the two side rails 23, 24. The roll 22 is a driven roll and serves to give traveling movement to the apron 22. In the present embodiment of the invention, this driven roll 22 is driven from the knife shaft 2 for which purpose said knife shaft is provided with a sprocket wheel 3| that engages the upper run of a sprocket chain 32, the latter passing around a sprocket wheel 33 rigid with the roll 22. 34 indicates an idle sprocket wheel which is freely rotatable on a stud 35 that is carried by the upright la. The knives and the knife shaft rotate in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 7, and in order to give the upper or meat-supporting run of the apron a movement in the right direction, the upper run of the sprocket chain passes underneath the sprocket wheel 3!, as best seen in Fig. 7.

- The slice of meat l9 to be slit is placed on the feed apron 20 at the right hand side in Figs. 1 and '7, and the movement of the apron 22 carries the meat beneath the knives l which are rotating clockwise, Fig. '7.

The relation between the size of the sprocket wheels SI, 33 and that of the knives I is such that the peripheral speed of the knives is considerably faster than the surface speed of the apron 20, and hence the knives will operate on the meat with a draw cut.

37 indicates a stripper which rests on the upper face of the slice of meat while it is being slit and which not only prevents the meat from being lifted off from the apron by the action of the knives, but also applies sufficient pressure and consequently retarding force against the slice to prevent it from slipping forwardly on the apron while being acted on by the rapidly rotating knives, whereby the knives slit the meat with a draw out. This stripper 31 may have any suitable or usual construction. As shown in Figs. 1 and 7, it comprises a series of individually flexible fingers extending between the knives and carried by a head 33 which is removably mounted on a supporting bar 39. The construction of this stripper and the manner of mounting it on the supporting bar 39 are similar to that shown in my copending application Serial No. 91,676 filed July 21, 1936, now Patent No. 2,216,216, dated October 1, 1940. The supporting bar is carried partly by the upright 1 and partly by a bracket arm 29 which is secured to and rises from the side rail 23. This supporting bar 39 is pivotally mounted so as to provide for raising and lowering the position of the stripper 3'! to accommodate slices [9 of different thicknesses. This bar has at its ends trunnions 44, one of which is journaled in the upright I and the other of which is journaled in the bracket arm 40. The supporting member 39 has an arm 45 rigid therewith which extends over the knife shaft adjacent the upright I and by which the supporting bar with the stripper thereon can be turned, thereby to raise and lower the stripper fingers. The end of the arm 45 is provided with a boss '46 carrying a locking pin 41 which is acted on by a spring 48 and is adapted to engage in any one of a plurality of apertures 9 with which the upright I is provided. The locking pin 41 has the head 52 by which it can be withdrawn from the aperture 49 when it is desired to adjust the position of the stripper (see Figs. 1, 2 and. 4.)

There is provided a support for the upper run of the apron 20 directly beneath the knives I, which support prevents the portion of the apron on which the meat is supported while it is being slit from sagging. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 to '7, this support is an adjustable support so that it not only prevents the apron from sagging but also provides means for adjusting the apron toward and from the knives, thereby gauging the depth of the slits which the knives will make in the meat. The apron support shown in Figs. 1 to 7 comprises a sleeve 5| which is loosely mounted on a shaft 52 that extends between the two side rails 23, 24. This shaft 52 has reduced ends 53, one of which is journaled in the side rail 23 and the other of which is journaled in and extends through the upright l. The main portion of the shaft between the trunnions 3 is eccentric to the trunnions as shown in Figs. 1 to '7, so that by turning the shaft about its trunnions, the eccentric portion will raise or lower the apron. One of the trunnions has a handle 54 pivoted thereto by which it may be turned and this handle is formed with a projection or toe 55 that is adapted to engage in any one of a plurality of recesses 56 formed in the upright i. This handle 54 thus provides means for operating the shaft 52 thereby to raise and lower the apron, and the nose 55 and apertures 56 provide means for locking the shaft in any adjusted position.

In Figs. 8, 9 and 10, I have shown an alternative method of adjusting the apron 20 toward and from the knives to vary the depth of the slits which the knives make in the steak. In this embodiment, the support for the apron comprises an idle roll 51, the ends 58 of which are rotatably mounted in open bearings 59 formed in arms 69 which are pivoted to the side rails 23, 24, as shown at 6|.

Means are provided for adjusting the arms 60 about their pivots 6| thereby to raise or lower the supporting roll 51. For this purpose, I have provided a shaft 62 which is journaled in the two side rails, as shown at 63. The shaft projects beyond the two side rails 23, 24, and the projecting portions 54, 65 of said shaft are made eccentric. Each lever 61] carries at its end an adjusting screw 66, said adjusting screws resting on the eccentric portions 64, 65 of the shaft 62. The shaft 62 projects through the upright I of the frame and has a handle 6! pivoted thereto at 68, this handle being provided with a nose 69 adapted to enter one of a number of apertures H1 in the frame thereby to lock the lever and the shaft in adjusted position.

When the shaft 62 is turned by the handle 61, the action of the eccentric portions 64, 85, on the adjusting screws 36 serves to raise the levers 60 and thusraise the supporting roll 5'!.

The adjusting screws 66 provide for a fine adjustment of the supporting roll 51 and the levers 69 provide for a quick adjustment of greater amount than that provided by the screws.

I propose to make the apron 20 of some suitable material to which the slice IQ of meat will adhere sufficiently so that the action of the rapidly rotating knives on the meat willnot slide the meat forward on the apron. I find that an apron of rubber which is soft, yieldable and more or less elastic will fulfill these requirements. The apron of elastic material has the further advantage that the elastic qualities thereof assist in delivering the slice of meat from the knives in a compact condition. When the leading end of the slice of meat engages the knives, the rapid rotation of the knives applies a pulling force to the meat tending to pull it along over the surface of the apron. As stated above, however, the adhesion of the meat with the apron is sufficient to prevent this, so that the slice of meat will retain its position on the apron. The forward pulling force exerted on the slice, however tends to stretch the elastic apron slightly on the intake side of the knives in the direction of its traveling movement, with the result that there is a tendency to elongate slightly the slice of meat in the direction of its traveling movement. The meat is slit in its slightly elongated state, but as soon as the slice of meat moves past the knives, the elasticity of the belt causes it to recover and thereby tends to contract the meat slightly in the direction of its length. The slice of meat, therefore, will be delivered in a compact form as distinguished f om a slightly elongated or attenuated form. ihe use of rubber for the apron has a further advantage that the apron will be kept taut in all of its adjustments, for when the upper run of the apron is adjusted upwardlytoward the knives, the apron will simply stretch slightly, and when it is adjusted downwardly, the elasticity of the apron will still keep it taut.

M9 indicates an apron stripper situated at the delivery end of the apron and operating to strip the slice of meat therefrom in case said slice tends to stick to the apron.

The construction shown in Figs. 1 to '7 is provided with means for cleaning the apron 29 so that it will always present a clean surface to receive a slice of meat Hi. This cleaning device may conveniently be in the form of a brush ldl which acts on the under run of the apron.

The brush herein illustrated is a rotary brush which is carried by a shaft I42 that is mounted in brackets M3 that are secured to and depend from the side bars 23, 24.

Any suitable means for rotating the brush may be employed and as indicating one convenient construction I have provided for driving the brush from a sprocket wheel Hi l which is rigid with the sprocket wheel 34, said sprocket wheel I44 being connected by a sprocket chain 145 to a sprocket wheel M6 fast on the brush shaft I42. With this construction the meat-receiving face of the apron will be progressively cleaned so that it will always present a clean surface on which to receive a slice of meat.

In Figs. 11 and 12 I have illustrated a different embodiment of the invention wherein the adjustment for the depth of the slits is provided for by adjusting the knives toward and from the apron. In this embodiment of the invention the bearings 3a in which the knife shaft 20 is journaled are mounted for turning movement in the uprights I, la, of the frame, and the knife shaft 2a is journaled eccentrically in these bearings, as shown in Fig. 14. Instead of being rigidly connected to the frame, the bearings 3a, are free to turn in the openings HQ and the turning of the bearings in the uprights l and la of the frame will cause the knife shaft to be raised or lowered. Each bearing is shown as having an arm ll rigid therewith, these arms extending radially from the bearing and lying just outside the upright members 1, la, of the frame. The arms are connected by a cross member 12 which is provided with a handle 13 by which it may be manipulated. This cross member 12 is shown as secured to the ends of the arms ll by means of attaching screws 74. The handle 13 thus provides means by which the bearings So can be turned for raising and lowering the knives relative to the apron 20, and by swinging the handle 13 toward the right or the left, Fig. 11, the desired adjustment of the knives will be made.

There is provided means for locking the cross member 12 to the cover plate I3 and for this purpose said cross member is provided with a springpressed locking pin 75 which is adapted to enter any one of a plurality of apertures 16 with which the cover plate I3 is provided. The locking pin IE is backed by a spring T! and is provided with a knurled head 78 by which it may be lifted against the spring to disengage it from the aperture '16. In this embodiment, the supporting roll for the apron, which is situated directly underneath the knives, is in the form of a sleeve 19 which is loosely mounted on a rod 80 that extends from one side rail 23 to the other side rail 24.

Figs. 11 and 12 also illustrate a slightly different form of stripper which is somewhat in the form of a grid. This stripper which is indicated generally at 31a, comprises separate stripper fingers 8| which are secured at one end to the head 38a, the other ends of the fingers 8! being connected together by a connecting strip 82. This form of stripper does not have individually flexiole stripper fingers, as in the form shown in Figs. 1 and "1. The head 38a of the stripper assembly is removably mounted on a cross bar 39a which is pivotally mounted, as in Figs. 1 and '7, one end of this cross bar being pivotally mounted in the upright l and the other end being pivotally mounted in the bracket arm it. The yielding movement of the stripper which is necessary to accommodate the slices of different thickness is provided for by means of a U-shaped spring 83, one arm 84 of which is secured to the supporting bar 39a and the other arm 85 of which is fastened at its end to the inside of the upright I. This spring tends to turn the stripper assembly counterclockwise in Fig. 11, thereby holding the stripper yieldingly against the slice of meat. The means for operating the apron in Fig. 11 is the same as that shown in Fig. 7.

In Fig. 15 I have shown still a difierent embodiment of the invention which includes rotary knives acting against the upper face of the slice of meat as in Figs. 1 to 11, and also includes rotary means situated beneath the knives and acting against the underface of the slice of meat and cooperating with said knives to perform the meat-slitting operation. Such rotary means as shown in Fig. 15 has a second set of rotary knives 86 which are mounted on a shaft 87 that is suitably journaled in the frame. In this embodiment of the invention, there are two sets of knives, one operating on the upper face of the slice of meat and the other operating on the lower face of said slice. The knives operating on the upper face of the meat are indicated at lb in Fig. 15 and these knives are similar to the knives I shown in Figs. 1 to 11, said knives being mounted for vertical adjustment in the same way as are the knives I in Figs. 1 to 11.

The lower shaft 81 which carries the knives 86 that act on the under side of the slice is driven from the shaft 22) carrying the upper set of knives lb by means of a sprocket chain 32b, which passes around a sprocket wheel 33b by which the apron 28b is operated, as will be presently described, and also around an idler roll 34b carried by the frame, the chain passing underneath the sprocket wheel 31b fast on the shaft 217 carrying the upper knives lb. The shaft 8'1 carrying the lower knives 86 has a sprocket wheel 88 fast thereon under which the lower run of the sprocket chain 32b passes (see Fig. 16). With this driving means, the sprocket chain will positively rotate the lower knives 86 in a direction opposite to that in which the upper knives lb are rotated. The apron by which the meat is fed to and past the knives is indicated at 25319 and it is arranged so as to pass under the lower set of knives 86. This apron passes around a direction roll 2lb at one end of the side rails 23, 24, and around a driving roll 22b at the other end of said rails, which driving roll is rigid with the sprocket wheel 33b. The apron also passes around direction rolls 89, 90, 9! and 92, which carry the upper run of the apron beneath the lower knives 8B. 93 is a direction roll for the lower run of the apron under which said apron passes and which keeps it properly spaced from the portion of the upper run which passes around the direction pulleys 9D and 9|. In this embodiment, the side rails 23 and 24 are secured to upstanding arms 95 rising from the portion 28b of the frame 4b, said arms having sufiicient vertical dimension to provide for the installation of the lower set of knives 86.

96 indicates a grid which extends across from one side rail 23 to the other side rail 24 and. which is provided with slots through which the lower knives 86 extend. This grid provides a support for the slice of meat while passing between the upper and lower knives.

In Figs. 15a and 1527 I have illustrated an embodiment of the invention somewhat similar to that shown in Fig. 15, which has the upper set of knives lb and the lower set of knives 86, but in which the apron 20b is divided longitudinally and the narrow strips or sections indicated at 253, in Fig. 1512, said narrow strips or sections being of a width to pass between the knives 86 of the lower set. In this embodiment, the upper run of the apron 20b passes over the grid 98, and the knives 86 of the lower set project through the spaces between adjacent apron sections 204's.

In Fig. l? I have illustrated still another embodiment of the invention which has the upper and lower slitting knives lo and 86c, as in Fig. 15, but in which the meat-feeding apron is made in two sections, one located on the input side of the machine and the other on the discharge side. The two sections of the feed apron are indicated at 20c and 2001. The apron section 260 passes around two rollers Zlc and 91, and the other apron section 20d passes around two rollers 22c and 98. The rollers 91 and 9B are mounted for free rotation in the side rails 23 and 2 1. In this embodiment of the invention, the apron section 200 feeds the meat to the knives and to the supporting grid 960 while the apron section 20d receives the slit slices and discharges them from the machine. In this embodiment, both rollers 2lc and 220 are driven, each roller driving its section of the apron. To provide for this, the roller 2lc has a sprocket wheel rigid therewith as wellas the roller 22c,

the sprocket wheel on the roller 220 being indicated at 33c, and that rigid with the roller 210 being indicated at I00. The sprocket chain 320 passes around both sprocket wheels 33c and H30 and under the sprocket wheel 3lc that is rigid with the knife shaft as well as over the idler sprocket wheel 340. The sprocket chain 320 also passes under and in operative engagement with a sprocket wheel fast on the shaft 870 thereby to rotate knives 860.

The knives on the upper and lower shafts in Figs. 15 and 17 may be set so as to stand opposite each other or so as to have a staggered relation, as desired.

It is to be understood that the device shown in Fig. 15 will embody a stripper similar to that shown in either Figs. 7 or 11. The stripper is omitted from Fig. 15 in order not to confuse the drawing.

In Fig. 18 I have shown an embodiment of the invention similar to that shown in Fig. 15 except that the rotary means that acts against the under face of the slice is in the form of a grooved roller instead of the lower set of knives 88 of Fig. 15. This grooved roller is indicated at 10!, and it is provided on its periphery with grooves I02 adapted to receive the knives Id. This roller is suitably mounted in the bearings carried by the side rails 23, 2d, and is operated by the sprocket chain 3% in a manner similar to that in which the shaft 81 in Fig. 15 is operated, that is, the roll lfll has rigid therewith a sprocket wheel under which the lower run of the chain 321) extends, said chain having the same arrangement in Fig. 18 as it has in Fig. 15. With this embodiment of the invention, the knives will out clear through the slice of steak, thereby cutting it into separate strips. The apron 20b for feeding the slice of meat through the machine shown in Fig. 18 is similar to that shown in Fig. 15.

In Fig. 20 I have shown an embodiment of the invention adapted to knit together two or more slices of meat, such. as the slices indicated at l9a and lQb. This is accomplished by the use of toothed members I03 in place of slitting knives. The apron for feeding the superposed meat slices 19a, lilb, through the machine is indicated at 20c and is similar to that shown in Fig. 7, except that its traveling movement is at the same speed as the peripheral speed of the toothed members I93. As the superposed slices I911, I911 are carried underneath the toothed members, the teeth thereof puncture the two slices and tend to force portions of the upper slice into the lower slice, tying the two slices together. This operation of puncturing the slices and tying them together serves the two-fold purpose of tendering the meat and uniting the slices so that they can be broiled and then eaten as a single slice.

The means for driving the apron 28c is somewhat similar to that shown in Figs. 1 and 7, except that the relative sizes of the feed roll and sprocket wheels are such as to give the apron a speed of movement equal to the peripheral speed of the toothed members I03. In this embodiment the apron 28a is carried by two rolls He and H14, both rolls being mounted in the side rails 23, 24. The roll I04 is a drive roll and has rigid therewith a sprocket wheel 33c which is actuated by a sprocket chain 326 that is driven from a sprocket wheel 3Ie fast on the shaft 2e which supports the toothed members I03. 34c is the idler sprocket wheel around which the sprocket chain passes.

The drive roll I04 for the apron 20c is shown as being as much larger than its sprocket wheel 336 as the toothed disks I83 are than the driving sprocket 3Ie, and the two sprocket wheels 33c and 3Ie are of substantially the same size. With this arrangement the feed apron 206 will be fed forward at the same speed as the peripheral speed of the toothed members.

In Figs. 21 to 23 I have illustrated another embodiment of the invention in which the meat slitting element is built into a unit which is adapted to be detachably applied to a power kitchen implement such as a meat grinder or meat chopper. Such machines are frequently supplied with different units which can be selectively secured thereto and operated thereby, and the device shown in Figs, 21 and 23 is adapted to be operated in this way.

In Fig. 22 III] indicates a part of the power driven kitchen implement to which the accessory unit is attached, and I II indicates a power shaft journaled in the bearing or part III], said power shaft being driven from the motor by which the machine is operated.

The meat slitting accessory unit embodying my invention comprises a suitable frame H2 in which is rotatably mounted a knife shaft 2 carrying a plurality of rotary disk knives I f. The meat to be slit is carried past the knives on an apron 20 which passes around two rolls 2I f and 22; that are mounted in two side rails 23), 2 1 that are secured to the fram I I2 in some appropriate way. The frame II2 with the knives and apron mounted thereon is adapted to be detachably secured to the part III! and in such a way that the knives and apron may be driven from the shaft III. For this purpose I have provided an adaptor or connector H3 which is detachably secured to the frame H2 and is provided with a hub II I adapted to be received in the recess I I5 formed in the end of the part III), this adaptor being held in the recess by means of a set screw H6.

The adaptor H3 has a shaft section II! journaled therein which is provided at one end with a squared portion H8 adapted to be received in a correspondingly shaped recess I I9 in the end of the power shaft I I I. The other end of the shaft section III is provided with a flat sided recess I29 adapted to receive a corespondingly shaped end I2I of a shaft I22 which is journaled in the frame and on which is rigid a gear I23. This gear I23 meshes with a gear I24 fast on the knife shaft 2 so that when the meat slitting attachment is secured to the part IIII, the knife shaft will be driven from the power shaft III. The apron 26/ is actuated from the knife shaft in the same manner as the apron 20 of Figs. 1 to '7 is actuated from the knife shaft 2. The knife shaft 2 has a sprocket wheel 3| fast thereon engaging a sprocket chain 32 j that passes around a sprocket wheel 33 rigid with the roll 22 The sprocket chain also passes around an idler 34f which is carried by the frame. The sprocket chain 32 passes under the sprocket wheel 3| 1 so that the clockwise rotation of the knife shaft will operate through the sprocket chain 32 to give the upper run of the apron a forward feeding movement toward the left.

The apron 29 is preferably made of elastic material such as rubber and an adjustable support is provided for the apron directly beneath the knives so that the portion of the apron on which the meat is supported while it is being slit will be prevented from sagging. This adjustable support is similar to that shown in Fig. 7, it being a shaft 537 journaled in the side rails and having an eccentric portion and also having a handle 54 by which it may be turned to make the adjustment. This handle is shown as having a nose 55] thereby to lock the shaft from turning movement.

The frame H2 is made with the gear casing portion I25 which encloses its gears I23, I24, and this gear casing portion has a removable head or end I26 which head is secured to the frame by suitable screws I27. The frame H2 is detachabl secured to the adaptor II3 by means of attaching screws I28 which are screwed into the adaptor from the right hand face of the head I26.

I29 indicates a positioning projection in the form of a screw with a large head which is carried by the adaptor and which is adapted to be received in a recess I3II-forrned in the part III} thereby to prevent the adaptor from turning. The stripper for holding the meat against the apron is omitted from Figs. 21 and 22.

Referring again to Figs. 1 to 4, I will preferabl mount the motor 6 on an adjustable support so as to provide for maintaining the driving belt M at the proper tension. The motor is shown as carried on a platform I3I which is pivoted to the base portion 5 of the frame at I32. The free end of the platform is received between two projections I33 extending from an arm I34 that is adjustably secured to the base portion 5 of the frame, This arm I35 is shown as having a slot I35 therein to receive a clamping screw I36 which extends through the base portion 5 of the frame, said screw having screw-threaded engagement with the clamping nut I31 by which the arm I34 is clamped to the frame.

When the clamping screw is loosened, then the arm I36 can be raised or lowered, and when it is in its adjusted position, the clamping screw is tightened.

The projections I33 are preferably encased in rubber I38 so that the free edge of the platform is held between two rubber covered projections.

There is thus provided a metal to rubber contact and the rubber takes up vibration.

If desired, the knife shaft may be extended at one end, as shown at IIII (Fig. 12) to receive a grinding wheel or polishing wheel, or any other implement. Such implement may be attached to the shaft extension III) in any appropriate way, one convenient way being to provide said shaft extension with screw threads to receive the accessory to be attached thereto.

Instead of placing the slice of meat directly on the apron, as shown in Fig. 1, I may, if desired, place the meat on a plate H5 which is placed loosely on the apron but which is not-attached thereto, as shown in Fig, '7.

It will be understood that a brush for cleaning the apron may be used in the devices shown in Figs. 8, 11, 15, 15a, 17, 18, 20, and 2l, said brush being omitted from these figures in order not to confuse the drawings.

per set of rotary knives, a lower set of rotary knives, means to rotate the knives, an endless meat-supporting apron to feed a slice of meat between said sets of knives and to deliver the slit slice from the knives, and means for guiding the upper run of the apron beneath the knives of the lower set.

2. A meat slitting machine comprising a set of rotary knives, means to rotate the knives, an endless apron for feeding a slice of meat to said knives and for delivering the slit meat from separate from the shaft-rotating means and actuated by said shaft to rotate said sprocket wheel with a continuous feeding movement, said means comprising an idler sprocket wheel situated on the opposite side of said shaft from the first-named sprocket wheel, a sprocket chain passing around said sprocket wheels and a driving sprocket wheel fast on said shaft and which engages and has operative driving connection with the upper side of the upper run of said sprocket chain between the idler sprocket wheel and said first-named sprocket wheel.

4. A meat-slitting machine comprising a frame, an upper and a lower knife shaft journaled therein, a series of rotary knives on each knife shaft, a travelling meat-supporting apron which is made in one piece from one edge to the other and has a width at least as great as the distance between the end knives on the upper shaft and which is provided with an input portion by which a slice of meat is fed between the sets of knives and a delivery portion which delivers the slit slice from the knives, means to rotate both knife shafts, and means actuated by one of the knife shafts for advancing the feed apron.

5. A meat-slitting machine comprising a frame, an upper and a lower knife shaft rotatably mounted therein, a series of rotary knives on each shaft, an endless meat-supporting apron which is made in one piece from one edge to the other and has a width at least as great as the distance between the end knives of the upper shaft and which is provided with an input portion by which a slice of meat is fed between the two sets of knives and a delivery portion which delivers the slit slice from the knives, means to rotate both shafts, and means actuated by the upper shaft to operate the endless meat-supporting apron.

JOSEPH P. SPANG. 

